Korg Modwave

GovernorSilver · January 19, 2021, 12:34am

Point taken. Also, I thought I read that Hydrasynth had MPE support added as well.

th0mas · January 19, 2021, 2:05am

After using a ton of Elektron gear the interface of the Wavestate was such a cumbersome letdown. Awkward positioning of the controls you needed 90% of the time (data encoder, +/- buttons) and a ton of knobs and buttons you rarely needed to touch.

This has the same issues.

Why they need to sell this and the Wavestate I really don’t know. I’d be upset if I hadn’t sold my Wavestate

dolomick · January 19, 2021, 4:10am

Minilogue XD too. Coolest part is the custom oscillators and it’s buried under the menu to get to all the settings, totally ruined it for me because I got it specifically for the user oscillators and it was no fun.

Dear Korg, UI matters. Get with it.

Vldsls_Drkwlya · January 19, 2021, 4:00pm

They are now fully down the path that Modal has taken, where they drop different digital synths into the same chassis and say voila! A new product!

I have to say I’m more forgiving of this strategy when Modal is doing it. The Modal synths look like sturdier, more solid synths than Wavestate/Opsix/Modwave. My experience with Korg tells me not to expect a lot in terms of build quality. Idk, it hasn’t grabbed me yet.

jeye_musik · January 19, 2021, 6:28pm

Sort of… but really it’s the same path that most brands take… I mean, compare the chassis of the Machinedrum Mk1 and the Rytm Mk1 - it’s the same sort of deal. Or, looking at the other way compare the front panel of the Modwave, Wavestate and Opsix and the controls are so divergent it’s not just a straight-forward flash a chip and put a new lick of paint on.

Seemingly Korg will have a livestream on the Youtube channel in an hour or two so hopefully we’ll get some more detail then!

HoldMyBeer · January 20, 2021, 3:04am

The Kaoss Physics bounce-the-ball-around modulation looks pretty fun.

GovernorSilver · January 20, 2021, 3:12am

That’s the first thing that grabbed my attention about modWave. I’m attracted to playful design elements like that in a synth. That’s why I have an OP-1… and still have it.

HoldMyBeer · January 20, 2021, 3:25am

I used to have an OP-1, and some of the sequencers were very fun.

Also, about the Modwave, the new motion sequencer looks very cool.

GovernorSilver · January 20, 2021, 3:44am

I took another look at AdamJay’s post. So, no Wave Sequence compared to Wavestate, but instead you get the 4-lane modulation sequencer, 5 LFOs, etc. I’d make that tradeoff too.

HoldMyBeer · January 20, 2021, 3:44am

I am hoping they update the Monologue with these new features. And go all out and do a Prologue Mk2 with them.

HoldMyBeer · January 20, 2021, 3:46am

Yeah, and it seems they added some new tricks to the motion recording. More in depth now, more options and whatnot.

th0mas · January 20, 2021, 2:22pm

the modwave and wavestate are based on a raspberry pi compute module as the DSP / brains. Seems like a good choice for what they’re doing as the synths sound pretty good.

Monologue does not have a raspberry pi computer module inside so it’s unlikely to see any influence from this line.

HoldMyBeer · January 20, 2021, 3:40pm

…yet.

Tchu · January 20, 2021, 3:50pm

Korg has been very busy during this Pandemic. What is the situation in Japan?

AdamJay · January 20, 2021, 4:06pm

I watch a lot of “walking in Tokyo and Osaka” videos on YT to relax, and everyone in the public has been masked there, for the entire pandemic.

Going about their lives, safely.

papertiger · January 20, 2021, 4:10pm

Many Eastern cultures have a tradition of wearing masks when ill or experiencing symptoms of illness, even without the threat of a potentially lethal virus.

If I ever go back to riding public transportation here in the States I plan to start adopting that mindset. Seems like the right thing to do. For me and everyone else.

Edit: Also I love the idea of the Korg Modwave but until my kids are older and start to ignore me, who am I kidding about getting one.

re5et · January 20, 2021, 4:23pm

Korg is taking over the elektron forum.

Come on elektron … release new gear to stamp your authority!!!

Unlikely to go near modwave. Sorry.

thermionic · January 21, 2021, 4:00am

Hah! I had to look that up to verify

AdamJay · January 21, 2021, 5:00am

Can those familiar with the wavestate chime in on what we can expect with these Modwave filters, as they appear to be the same?

Favorite filter models? How good is the utility of the multi filter? How does it compare to, say for instance, the dual filter on the Pro 2 that is fadeable between serial and parallel?

I think for me, the Wavestate is really going to come down to how much I like the filters. The list of everything else, on paper, is just insanely impressive for an $800 synth. I’m a sucker for a good onboard sequencer, and I am considering kicking my DDJ-1000 out to another room to make space for it.

AdamJay · January 21, 2021, 6:15am

This thing is such a modulation monster. The sequencer appears to be 8 lanes per layer. A-D are destinations you set yourself (think of it as a parameter to choose to p-lock, in Elektron terms), and then 4 more for standard stuff like pitch, probability, timing. Quite capable.

This from Korg’s Dan Philips, posted on GS:

I just put this together. I haven’t checked it in detail, so there may be errors or admissions. In general, the philosophy is that everything is modulatable unless there’s a strong reason not to make it so.

List of modwave modulation destinations

Osc 1:
Position, B Offset, Xfade Width, A/B Blend, Morph Amount, Osc 1 LFO Intensity (to Morph), Osc 1 Env Intensity (to Position), Phase, Level, Pan, Octave, Tune, Transpose

Osc 2:
same as Osc 1

Sub Osc/Noise:
Octave (Sub Osc settings only), Level, Pan

Filter:
Cutoff, Resonance, Input Trim, Output Level, Filter Key Track Intensity, Filter LFO Intensity, Filter Env Intensity
(Technically, modulating the LFO, Env, or Key Track Intensities just creates a new mod routing to Cutoff, with the LFO, Env, or Key Track as the first source, and the new mod source as the intensity modulator)

Multi Filter adds:
Crossfade, Manual 1 LP, Manual 1 HP, Manual 1 BP, Manual 1 Dry, Manual 2 LP, Manual 2 HP, Manual 2 BP, Manual 2 Dry

Amp:
Level, Velocity Intensity, Amp Key Track Intensity, Amp LFO Intensity
(See above re LFO/Key Track Intensity modulation)

Pan:
Pan, Random Pan On/Off

Pitch:
Octave, Transpose, Tune, Slope, Portamento On/Off, Portamento Time, Pitch LFO Intensity
(See above re LFO/Env Intensity modulation)

Envelopes (x4):
Attack Time, Decay Time, Sustain Level, Release Time, Attack Curve, Decay Curve, Release Curve (also Trigger Source and Threshold)

Kaoss Physics:
Tilt X, Tilt Y, Friction, Time, Bump Height, Bump Position X, Bump Position Y, Edge Bounce Top, Edge Bounce Bottom, Edge Bounce Left, Edge Bounce Right
NB: Kaoss Physics can be modulated only from Channel or Performance sources, or from the Velocity/Release Velocity and Note Number of the most recent note (via a loophole in the system!).

LFOs (x5):
Waveform, Frequency (or Note Length and Multiplier, separately), Shape, Offset, Fade, Start Phase, Random Start Phase On/Off, Tempo Sync On/Off

Effects (x3 per Layer, plus Performance Reverb):
Edit 1, Edit 2, Edit 3, Wet/Dry
NB: Layer effects can be modulated only from Channel or Performance sources (see below). Reverb can be modulated only from Performance sources.

Arpeggiator:
Sort, Latch, Key Sync, Gate, Swing, Resolution
NB: The Arpeggiator can be modulated only from Channel or Performance sources.

Unison:
Number of Voices, Detune, Thickness, Stereo Spread

Lanes (x6):
Loop Start, Loop End, Loop # of Repeats, Note-On Advance On/Off

Timing Lane:
Speed (or Speed Ratio), Swing %, Swing Resolution

Individual Steps (64 per Lane)
Timing Lane Steps:
Probability, Duration Time (or Duration Note and Note Multiply)
Pitch Lane Steps:
Probability, Transpose, Tune
Shape Lane Steps:
Probability, Offset, Level, Start Phase
Seq Lane (A-D) Steps:
Probability, Value

Also - all Mod Knobs can be destinations (using Performance sources only), as well as sources. For example, you can modulate Mod Knob 2 from Kaoss Physics Distance.

Per-voice, Channel, and Performance sources

Most modulation sources are per-voice, meaning that they have a separate value for every voice. These include ADSR Envelopes, LFOs, Mod Processors, Key Tracking, Seq Lanes A-D, Velocity, Note Number, Gate, Poly Aftertouch, etc.

Channel mod sources have a single value for all Layers on a given MIDI Channel. These include MIDI CCs, Channel Aftertouch, and Pitch Bend. The Pitch Wheel and Mod Wheel are also channel sources, operating on the Global MIDI Channel.

Performance mod sources have a single value for the entire Performance. These include the Mod Knobs and Kaoss Physics.

Maximum number of modulation routings

The modwave creates modulation routings as required, as opposed to having a “mod matrix” with a fixed number of slots. Multiple modulation routings can be made to a single destination, and a single source can modulate any number of destinations. The only fixed numeric limit is that a maximum of 31 routings can be made to any single destination (!). On its sister instrument, the Wavestate, some Performances had ~200 mod routings.